good wednesday morning. here is what's coming up on "early today". deadline day. hours to go before the default deadline. the senate is back at the noon, with the aaa credit rating happening in the balance. 51% of the public is right do the middle. fascinating new details about where we stand. extreme bullying. two teens charged with felony aggravated stalking after another girl jumps to her death. plus, an american hero recognized. oreos as addictive as company

cape. and train trouble for a woman trying to avoid police. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm mayra schiavocampo. time is growing short to reach a deal. we're now less than 20 hours away from a key treasury deadline. if an agreement is not reached, the nation could default on its bills. >> my expectation is it does get solved. but we don't have a lot of time and so what i'm suggesting to the congressional leaders is let's not do any posturing, let's not save face, let's not worry about politics, do what's right, open the government and make sure we're paying our bills. >> the house tuesday abandoned the last ditch effort to pass its own legislation. >> there have been no decisions about what exactly we will do. but we're going to continue to work with our members on both

sides of the aisle to try to make sure there is no issue of default and to get our government reopened. >> some are placing the blame squarely on house speaker john boehner. >> it's about the psychology of one man and whether he is willing to put at risk his speaker ship by could be belling a deal together that will get the votes of the republicans. whether he will abandon the tea party or collapse the global economy. >> nancy pelosi says defaulting would be stupid. >> you can shut down government and that's a bad thing, but you undermine the full faith and credit of the united states of america, that's a very hard thing to get back. >> right now any likelihood of a deal appears to be in the hands of the senate. majority leader harry reid says they are very close to reopening the government and lifting the

debt ceiling. >> i'm confident we'll be able to reach a comprehensive agreement this week in time to overt a catastrophic default on the nation's bills. >> nbc's tracie potts is live in washington with the very latest on all of this. good morning. so just what are you hearing about reports that one major u.s. credit agency could downgrade the nation's credit rating? >> well, apparently those reporting are true that fitch is considering putting the u.s. on a negative watch, it doesn't mean we'll be automatically down graded. and it's not really related to the health of our economy. it's related to this political impasse over how we go forward from here. now, you heard harry reid sounding optimistic about coming up with a solution, but keep in mind harry reid and his democrats in the senate are only half of the solution. where things really fell apart here were in the house of representatives where tea party conservatives simply insist they he are not going along with

anything up health care is on the table, until health care is dealt with.e are not going alon anything up health care is on the table, until health care is dealt with.are not going along anything up health care is on the table, until health care is dealt with. so where come we go from here? it's possible the senate could come up with something last minute and pass it. and when it gets to the house, it would then be up to republican speaker john boehner, he would have to use democratic votes, ignoring those tea party members of his open party, hose conservatives in his own party. he would need some democrats to get something passed today and save the country from default. >> all right, tracie potts live in washington. thanks. in florida, two girls are charged in a frightening cyber bullying case that turned deadly. police say 12-year-old rebecca sedwick just couldn't take anymore. she tragically killed herself last month after nearly a year of ugly taunts, including one reading, quote, drink bleach and die. now two girls are charged as juveniles in connection with rebecca's suicide. the 12 and 14-year-old are facing felly aggravating

stalking charges. they have been released to their parents under house arrest p. a rapid fall from grace and now a guilty plea from bob filner, he pleaded guilty tuesday to a felony for putting a woman in a headlock and to two misdemeanor, one for kissing another one against her will and another for grabbing the behind of a third woman. filner was driven from office in august after sexual allegations from at least 17 women. the 71-year-old previously said he was the victim of a lynch mob. under the plea deal, he will sentenced to plea months of home confinement and three years of probation. in memphis, a fiery and deadly he said for an armed suspect. the chain of events was sparked when officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant for attempted murder. he shot two cops before barricading himself inside his home. shortly after exchanges gunfire,

he apparently ignited a fire inside the house before fatally shooting himself. both officers are expected to recover from their gunshot wounds. in newtown, connecticut special restrictions have been put in place before demolition crews begin tearing down the site of that tragic school shooting. in a move to protect the families of the 26 people massacred inside the sandy hook elementary school, workers will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. it was drawn up to bar crews from taking photos and videos as well as discussing the work site. a new school will be built after the current structure is completely demolished. given all the gridlock in washington, it might seem like the country is heavily divided along party lines. but people are not as red and blue as you might think. that's according to a new study from nbc news and esquire magazine. chuck todd reports. >> reporter: a new nbc news he

is square survey finds we all could use a pair of 3d glasses. there is a growing center. 51% of the country actually falls in the middle lane of american politics. the hard left lane is just 21%. and the hard right lane is only slightly bigger at 28%. the center is as diverse as the country and basically fall into four countries. the minivan moderates are in the suburbs. pickup populists largely live in rural america. mba middle live on the coast, while the most cynical dubbed the whatever man centrists are largely under 40. culturally, this is a live and let live group. 52% are okay with legal iizing marijuana, but 79% believe the government is spending too much money. >> so just where do you fall on the political spectrum? find out by taking our interactive quiz on nbc news.com, just click the icon

that says quiz where do you stand. and now for a look at our national weather forecast -- >> i'll have to do that. sounds like a fun activity. >> i like the categorization of whatever man. >> yeah. that's fun anyfunny. the weather is actually quiet around the country. texas continues to get the rain. and i hope everyone's enjoyed their pretty warm october. because there are signs of some cold air dominating the weather map as we go to the end of this month. and halloween is not too far away anymore. so here's where we're looking. still mild in the southeast, cold air from canada in the midwest and we're still rainy along the front from the great lakes down through the ohio valley. bulk of the rain is very light, but it is right now there little rock approaching the memphis area all the way down through shreveport, dallas it has been wet for 24 hours now in austin and san antonio. we'll be watching most of the rain leaving texas by about 4:00 or 5:00 today moving into areas of louisiana, alabama, mississippi. so it looks like at least the lone star state will clear out after today. the forecast high, it's cool.

highs only in the 50s for a good chunk of the middle half of the country and enjoy the warm air in the med atlantic coast to the southeast because about a week from now, it looks like significant changes are coming. that's your national forecast. now here is a look at the weather outside your window. so temperatures are still very warm for this time of year. if you look at 88 in orlando, charlotte at 77, even new york city near 70 degrees. all of those temperatures are before average. so that is the only big weather headline out there is about a week from now, i think we'll be talking cold and snow possibility through t possibly through the great lakes. >> so enjoy these last nice days. thank, bill 37. an american hero recognized with the nation's highest honor. plus the battle between harry bellefonte, and the estate of martin luther king jr., and the fate of three important king documents. that's coming up next.

how to other stories making headlines this morning. a utah woman is lucky to be alive. she was fleeing from police when she got stuck on some train tracks. then while still inside her car, she gets hit not once, but twice by and oncoming train. though she did suffer some broken bone, she was not seriously injured 37 oncoming t. though she did suffer some broken bone, she was not seriously injured 37 . army captain william swenson was recognized for heroic actions in one of the deadliest firefights in war in afghanistan. >> you can never allow a service member to be taken hostage. alive or dead. you bring them home. harry bellefonte is suing the estate of dr. martin luther king jr.. at issue are three documents previously in his possession including a speech dr. king never delivered. bellefonte says the documents were given to him by king's

wife. king's children say they were taken without permission. and a rarely seen oar fish was caught off the coast of california. it took more than 15 people to haul in the 18-foot giant. the fish doesn't come up all that often thank goodness. they typically dive more than 3,000 feet deep. not a fan of the oar fish. turning now to business. stocks finished down on tuesday. but today stocks in japan ended on the up side. twitter has decided against the tech heavy nasdaq and will be trading on the new york stock exchange when it goes public. according to a study at connecticut college, oreos may be as addictive as cocaine. the study looks at the brains of rats and found they activated more neurons to exposure to cocaine or morphine. john edwards' former mistress is trying to drum up book sales. ray he will hunter now says she, quote, behaved badly and is apologizing for her wrong and

selfish behavior.will hunter no quote, behaved badly and is apologizing for her wrong and selfish behavior. editors at deal news.com and found the best deals were during the first two weeks of december. good to know. orange juice is getting squeezed from america's breakfast tables. a gallon of o.j. has driven a buck 50 over the last ten years. angry birds fans should mark their calendars for december 10th. a hugh game called angry birds go pits the birds against one another in a cart racing game. sports is coming up next including trick shots and the greatest basketball player of all time according to king james. but first our trivia question. the u.s. defaulted on its debt for the first time during which war? the war of 1812, the civil war, world war i or world war ii. the answer next.

before the break, we asked, the u.s. defaulted on its debt for the first time during which war, the war of 1812, the civil war, world war i, or world war ii. the answer, the war of 1812 when the u.s. treasury couldn't afford to pay american troops. the only other time was in 1979 due to what the government called a back office glitch. turning on to sports, the dodgers are facing elimination in the national league championship. in game four last night, st.

louis got a two run homer to left field and shane robinson blasted a home run off the top of the wall and st. louis beat l.a. 4-2. game five is this afternoon in l.a.. in detroit, the power went out at comerica park and delayed the bottom half of the second inning of the tigers/red sox game for about 16 minutes. detroit batters had no power against john lackey who only gave up four hits. in the seventh inning, boston's mike nap owely smashed a fast ball for a homer in the 1-0 win. red sox lead the series 2-1. lebron james says michael jordan is the greatest basketball player of all-time. but james told espn, quote, my goal is to be the best of all-time and that means maximizing everything i have. members of the washington capitals posed for photos wearing silly hats are rescue

dogs for a charity calendar. it will raise money for a group that adopts dogs and cats and places them in homes. robert griffin iii and josh wilson put on wigs at an event supporting the fight against breast cancer. they seem pretty hear with their new dos. and new extreme trick shots are back as the group shoots baskets from one white water raft to another. an amazing bank shot while moving on a zip line. good stuff. just ahead, the donald just got more spread out. sweel explain. plus catching fire is starting to create quite a buzz. you're watching "early today".

welcome back on this wednesday morning. warm conditions for the east coast. some rain left over early today for dallas down to san antonio, some of that will drift over towards areas like memphis and little rock. as far as the extended forecast goes, all indications are what we call a polar are vor test. that's an area of big low pressure will sink down from the north right down to the u.s. came nad kran border toward the end of october. and this could produce some really unseasonably cold weather. we've been very warm so far this october, so this will be a big change. this is again a week from now. and we could even start talking about lake effect snow and stuff like that. so this weekend maybe get the winter clothes ready. >> hard to believe we're talking snow already. i guess it's that time of year,

but seems like it came so soon. turning to entertainment, tina fey and amy poehler will be back to host both the 2014 and 2015 golden globes. in an interview, amy poehler talked about how preparing is similar to snl. >> we kind of treat it like the way we used to treat update. we get a lot of jokes, we read through them, we comb through the ones that are working, we write some of our own, we write, we talk about it. but you kind of can't do any of this stuff too early and you also can't overthink it. >> congratulations to ivanka trump and her husband, they welcomed a baby boy yesterday. he's named joseph. chris pine is the newest addition to the cast of horrible bosses, too. they will reprise their roles in the sequel. forbes has released their list of highest paid tv actors. ashton kutcher is again at the

top spot with $24 million followed by jon cryer, ray romano, neil patrick harris, mark harmon and patrick dempsey. kutcher actually makes less than sophia vergara who brought in $30 million last year. michelle has a new little love, an 8-year-old dog named pearl. hunger games has released their newest tease. the rock and roll hall of fame has announced their 2014 induction nominees which include linda ronstadt, kiss, hall of oats and ll cool jay just to name a few. there are others. and kim car dakardashian is offy off the market. her engagement ring went for $749,000. it's a bargain. just a fraction off its limited worth of $2 million. this is "early today". we hope it's just your first stop of the day on nbc.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start. you will not see as much sunshine as yesterday. it will be mostly dry. let's look at the current conditions. 59 in parkton. 60 in rock hall. a mix of clouds and sun. it will be a mild with a high temperature into the low-end of the 70's. >> coming up on 4:57.

>> cal ripken's mother approached by a gunman. details on an arrest. >> let's stop this. let's sit down and consider the speaker's proposal. >> the senate needs to make a move to avoid a default. >> our country could face defaults at midnight tonight. what that could mean for you. >> the attorney general is saying he did not misuse services by the state police. >> we are taking a look at the area roads. what does that first spoonful taste like?

ok. honey bunches of oats. ching! mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wb